{"id":247386,"date":"2026-05-17T02:51:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T21:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=247386"},"modified":"2026-05-26T05:31:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T00:01:32","slug":"why-is-ndb-fraud-being-buried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/why-is-ndb-fraud-being-buried\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is NDB Fraud Being Buried?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/b>Amrit Muttukumaru<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"

Amrit Muttukumaru<\/p><\/div>\n

The NDB FRAUD in terms of its IMPLICATIONS to the country is the most dangerous FINANCIAL FRAUD in recent times \u2013 more dangerous than even the Bond Scam. This is because it affects the ENTIRE<\/b><\/span> <\/b>Banking\/Financial system due to CBSL COLLUSION with the potential to undermine Sri Lanka\u2019s CREDIBILITY.<\/p>\n

The question is why powerful interests led by REGULATORS are DESPERATE to BURY this FRAUD?\u00a0 <\/span>They have DEVIOUSLY introduced DISTRACTIONS \u2013 the latest being the missing USD 2.5 Million from the Treasury. Has not the NDB Fraud largely gone off the radar? Even in RARE instances when the Fraud is mentioned, not a word is said of the NEGLIGENCE of the \u2018Director Board\u2019, CBSL\u2019s Bank Supervision Department and External Auditor Ernst & Young. Crucially OMITTED are the REASONS for the RESIGNATION of \u2018Board Director\u2019 Shanil Fernando and the \u2018Conflict of Interest\u2019 in the appointment of \u2018Deloitte India\u2019 as the Forensic Auditor.<\/p>\n

Even in terms of VALUE while the Treasury Scam is SLR 805 Million<\/b>, the NDB Fraud is placed at a minimum of SLR 13.2 Billion<\/b>!<\/p>\n

Although without question the country must get to the bottom of the COAL SCAM and other credible instances of corruption which include the missing USD 2.5 Million from the Treasury, it is DANGEROUS for the country to take the eye off the ball from the NDB Fraud.<\/p>\n

One area in which successive governments, oppositions in Sri Lanka and the media have CONSENSUS is in giving a FREE PASS to the PRIVATE SECTOR which for the most part is the MOTHER of political corruption.<\/p>\n

Reasons to bury the NDB Fraud<\/b><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1) Involvement of Duminda Hulangamuwa, Senior Economic Adviser to President AKD. <\/span><\/p>\n

He is the <\/span>Managing Partner of NDB External Auditor Ernst & Young. If appointing him due to the obvious \u2018conflict of interest\u2019 was bad enough, is not CONTINUING to have him as AKD\u2019s \u2018Adviser\u2019 despite his involvement in the massive NDB Fraud far worse? <\/span>Does not anyone in this country realize that Hulangamuwa has the potential to pass on sensitive information to EY clients? <\/span><\/p>\n

2) CBSL COLLUSION by way of (i) NEGLIGENCE of \u2018Bank Supervision Department\u2019 (ii) allowing the NDB \u2018Director Board\u2019 which FAILED to PREVENT the Fraud to CONTINUE <\/span><\/p>\n

UNHINDERED (iii) allowing this same \u2018Director Board\u2019 to <\/span>APPOINT the \u201cinternational firm\u201d to carry out the \u2018Forensic Audit\u2019. CBSL <\/b>falls under the purview of the Ministry of Finance of which the subject Minister is <\/span>President AKD.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) \u2018Conflict of Interest\u2019 in the appointment of \u2018DELOITTE INDIA\u2019 to carry out the FORENSIC AUDIT. <\/span>NDB \u2018Board Director\u2019 and Chairman of its \u2018Audit Committee\u2019 SUJEEWA MUDALIGE was a former Managing Partner of PwC Sri Lanka which is now part of the DELOITTE <\/b>WORLDWIDE FAMILY.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) Involvement of some of the BIGGEST NAMES in the PRIVATE SECTOR on the \u2018Director Board\u2019 of NDB Bank PLC. This includes Hasitha Premaratne – Managing Director of Brandix Group, Bernard Sinniah – former Managing Director of Citibank, Sujeewa Mudalige – former Managing Partner of PwC (now Deloitte) \/ Past President of CA Sri Lanka and Shanil Fernando – founding member of Virtusa Corporation\/Co-Founder of Sysco Labs.<\/p>\n

5) Involvement of some of the most PROMINENT Chartered Accountants\/Auditors in the country \u2013 Sujeewa Mudalige (former Managing Partner of PwC \/ Past President of CA Sri Lanka) and Duminda Hulangamuwa (<\/span>Managing Partner of Ernst & Young).<\/p>\n

Worst fears realized<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Our worst fears are now realized with NDB appointing DELOITTE INDIA to carry out the <\/b>FORENSIC AUDIT.<\/p>\n

NDB \u2018Board Director\u2019 and Chairman of its \u2018Audit Committee\u2019 SUJEEWA MUDALIGE was a former Managing Partner of PwC Sri Lanka which is now part of the DELOITTE WORLDWIDE FAMILY. Hence, is there not the possibility that the NDB \u2018Director Board\u2019 could \u2018MANAGE\u2019 the Forensic Audit with the \u2018blessings\u2019 of the CBSL?<\/span><\/p>\n

This ASPECT does not seem to bother ANYONE in this country \u2013 not even leading opposition member DR. HARSHA DE SILVA – Chairman, Parliament\u2019s Committee on Public Finance keeping in mind that the government through the EPF\/ETF\/SLIC\/BOC is the MAJOR SHAREHOLDER of publicly owned NDB Bank PLC.<\/p>\n

Even the SEC which must fulfil its corporate governance responsibility since NDB Bank is a PLC company is SILENT on the appointment of Deloitte India. <\/span>SEC Chairman – Dr. Hareendra Dissabandara is an appointee of the Ministry of Finance of which President AKD is Minister.<\/p>\n

Shanil\u2019s Resignation & Deloitte\u2019s Credibility<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

If Deloitte India wants to demonstrate even a semblance of credibility should not its first order of business be to obtain the RESIGNATION LETTER of \u2018Board Director\u2019 Shanil Fernando which should give the REASONS for his resignation? <\/span>This is precisely what is being HIDDEN from the country.<\/p>\n

Regulatory agencies are doing their damnedest to PORTRAY Shanil Fernando as the villain of the piece for the Fraud. Being DOWNPLAYED is that he only became a \u2018Board Director\u2019 in January 2026.<\/p>\n

By highlighting Shanil Fernando\u2019s IMPRESSIVE Digital Technology credentials such as being the <\/span>\u2018Co-Founder of Sysco Labs\u2019 those concerned are MISCHIEVOUSLY attempting to portray him as being NEGLIGENT to ALERT the \u2018Director Board\u2019.<\/p>\n

The letter from NDB Company Secretary Shehani Ranasinghe to the <\/span>Chief Regulatory Officer of the CSE dated 27 April 2026 merely refers to Shanil Fernando\u2019s RESIGNATION effective from that date WITHOUT giving any REASONS for his resignation. The only other issue mentioned by her is presumably a SUBTERFUGE – \u201cThe Shareholding of Mr. Shanil Fernando as at the date of his resignation will be notified in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CSE website under \u2018CORPORATE DISCLOSURES\u2019 does not mention a word about the REASONS for his RESIGNATION. Are not the REASONS CRUCIAL to shareholders\/depositors of NDB?<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1) CBSL must ensure that the \u2018Terms of Reference\u2019 for the FORENSIC AUDIT by DELOITTE INDIA must COMMENCE with the RESIGNATION LETTER of \u2018Board Director\u2019 Shanil Fernando.<\/p>\n

2) The SEC must DEMAND that CSE FORTHWITH PUBLISHES Shanil Fernando\u2019s letter of RESIGNATION on its WEBSITE under <\/span>\u2018CORPORATE DISCLOSURES\u2019.<\/p>\n

SEC Chairman, Dr. Hareendra Dissabandara is an appointee of President AKD in his capacity as Minister of Finance.<\/p>\n

3) President AKD as Finance Minister or Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando – Deputy Minister of Finance must PUBLICLY ask CBSL Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe why he ALLOWED (i) the <\/span>NDB \u2018Director Board\u2019 which FAILED to prevent the FRAUD to CONTINUE UNHIDERED?<\/span> (ii) the same \u2018Director Board\u2019 to APPOINT the FORENSIC AUDITOR?<\/p>\n

4) The REPORT of the Forensic Auditor (Deloitte India) must be PUBLICLY available on the WEBSITE of the Ministry of Finance since the government is the MAJOR SHAREHOLDER of NDB Bank PLC.<\/p>\n

5) Parliament\u2019s \u2018Committee on Public Finance\u2019 (COPF) of which leading opposition member DR. HARSHA DE SILVA is Chairman must INSIST on (1), (2), (3) and (4) given immediately above. <\/span><\/p>\n

I end by pointing out that the country\u2019s only stand-alone business newspaper \u2018Daily FT\u2019 while reporting as recently as 14 May the credentials of new \u2018Board Directors\u2019 of Harischandra Mills PLC has crucially SUPPRESSED the fact that SUJEEWA MUDALIGE is a \u2018Board Director\u2019 of NDB Bank PLC and Chairman of its \u2018Audit Committee\u2019.\u00a0 <\/span>This is what the country is up against.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":242254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is NDB Fraud Being Buried? - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/why-is-ndb-fraud-being-buried\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Is NDB Fraud Being Buried? - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/why-is-ndb-fraud-being-buried\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-16T21:21:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T00:01:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/nandalal-and-Anura.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"510\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amrit Muttukumaru\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amrit Muttukumaru\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/why-is-ndb-fraud-being-buried\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/why-is-ndb-fraud-being-buried\/\",\"name\":\"Why Is NDB Fraud Being Buried? 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